The $465 million structure replaces St. John's Regional Medical Center that was destroyed in a 2011 tornado that devastated the city. The new 900,000 sf facility is scheduled to open 46 months after the storm struck.

The new hospital features a window and frame system that can protect patients from winds of up to 250 mph. The structure was built with a concrete roof and a precast concrete outer shell.

Engineers and architects with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and HKS Architects studied the storm’s aftermath and applied lessons drawn from that analysis in the new building.

Other buildings own by Mercy have also been shored up to withstand high winds. Strengthened windows have been added to other Mercy buildings including an orthopedic hospital in Springfield, Missouri, and a rehabilitation hospital in Oklahoma City.

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